I think my particular fondness for them might have something to do with the fact that I lived and breathed softball for nearly eleven years ... but, then again, there is also something universally amazing about baseball flicks. Bear with me here, and just think: The Natural, Bull Durham, The Sandlot.

Directed by Penny Marshall in 1992, A League of Their Own celebrates the true story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, which originated during WWII as a way to maintain baseball as a public diversion as professional male players went off to war. Marshall focuses her film on the first season of the league and on the exploits of one specific team, The Rockford Peaches. It's hard to really pick out a star from the team, the cast of which includes the likes of both Rosie O'Donnell and Madonna, among many other wonderful characters.

However, catcher Dottie Henson (Geena Davis) is the real star of the show. Beyond earning the title "The Queen of Diamonds" for her ability to "Play like Gehrig and look like Garbo," Dottie's relationship with her kid sister Kit (Lori Petty) drives the entirety of the film. Then of course, there's Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks, in what I sometimes think is his greatest performance), alcoholic, former home run champ, generally hilarious.

Beyond giving the players of the AAGPBL a voice and containing some of the most-quotable sports phrases ever, A League of Their Own captures something that few other sports films really convey: the thrill of what it is to play. Tom Hanks's character says it best: "Baseball is what gets inside of you, it's what lights you up. There's no denying that ... If it wasn't hard everybody would do it. It's the hard that makes it great." To this day, whenever I watch this film, I can almost feel the infield dirt under my feet. "It's what lights you up." Indeed.

I recognize that not all of us necessarily played baseball, or softball, or, perhaps, any type of sport -- but I am sure that you can harness some of the thrill from even just watching a game. Thus, this week's menu. Food52 has a surprising amount of recipes that can be read as more sophisticated versions of ballpark snacks. So sit back and enjoy watching an old-time ballgame, with a little liquor and bacon thrown in for good measure. Then, of course, there's the cake, which is obviously in support of my favorite team. Go Peaches!

The trailers for this film are absolutely atrocious (they include an adjusted version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" with the line "Who Says Girls Can't Play Baseball." Instead, I bring you the following rather famous sneak peek:

Currently a Creative Technologist working over at Campfire. Recent grad of NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, where I played around with interactive video and mobile storytelling. Former video and editing accomplice here @ Food52.
In other lives: worked on the HBO Documentary Make Me Young: Youth Knows No Pain & The New York Public Library’s Biblion: The Boundless Library.
At the moment, I'm really into feta.

Comments (11)

I'd love to share this meal and movie if only someone would send an evite! My thoughts on this film revolve around what a triumph it is for its director, Penny Marshall, from da Bronx, who brought together a cast of actors with disparate egos into a unified, moving narrative of quite heroism. This is a wonderfully American film (and menu).

Thank you for reminding me about A League of Their Own! It is a great movie. Your dinner is perfectly matched to it. In fact, I think I will copy your dinner and movie for our next extended family dinner. Thank you.